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New Zoning Law Clears the Way for Wawa on the Newtown Bypass - What Message Does It Send Other Developers?

New Zoning Law Clears the Way for Wawa on the Newtown Bypass - What Message Does It Send Other Developers? | Newtown News of Interest | Scoop.it

Convenience stores with gas pumps dot the landscape in the far lower end of Bucks County and might now become a more common sight a little farther north in the Newtown area.
Supervisors in Newtown Township, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown recently approved an amendment to their joint municipal zoning ordinance that permits the use within certain zoning areas in all three municipalities.

The move is good news for Villanova-based developer The Provco Group, which wants to build a Wawa with 16 gas pumps just off the Newtown Bypass near Lower Silver Lake Road in Newtown Township. The amendment allows the use on land zoned Office Research in the township, and the Provco proposal is for a parcel zoned OR.

The company filed its application several months ago for the Wawa, and also a substantive challenge to the ordinance because it didn't allow for the use anywhere in the three townships. Doylestown attorney John VanLuvanee, who is representing Provco, said he hopes the zoning amendment takes care of the challenge and clears the way for construction of the Wawa.

Provco must go through the township's land development process and get approval from the supervisors for the Wawa to be built.

The ordinance amendment has dozens of requirements for convenience stores with gas pumps in the three townships, and allows them on land zoned OR in Newtown Township and parcels zoned Village Commercial or Village Commercial 2 in Upper Makefield and Wrightstown.

Supervisors in Newtown Township were the last among the three municipalities to green light the amendment when they voted 3-2 to approve it at a recent meeting. Board Chairman Phil Calabro and members Dennis Fisher and David Oxley voted yes, and John Mack and Kyle Davis voted no.

"We're giving them the best, sweetest part of the township for a gas station," Davis said.

johnmacknewtown's insight:

While this may or may not set a precedent for turning the Bypass into another Route 1, IMHO it does send the wrong message to other developers like Arcadia and Toll Bros who are also suing Newtown. The message is: "Newtown lacks the hutzpah to challenge developers in court."

 

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Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity.
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